Ninurta reconnaissance vehicle
The Ninurta is a Birshatari version of the Brazilian EE-T4 Ogum light tracked reconnaissance vehicle produced by the Organisation for Military Industries. It is named after Ninurta, the Mesopotamian god of law, scribes, farming, and hunting. Development Development on the EE-T4 Ogum began in February 1985, and in May 1986 the first prototype was completed. In late 1986 the initial prototype tested in Middle East. In November 1986 the second prototype was also completed and in early 1987 was also tested in the Middle East. The Ogum was displayed at the Baghdad weapons fair May 1989, eliciting the interest of Birshatari officials. Prior to its bankruptcy, Engenheiros Especializados SA offered the Ogum for licensed manufacture, although Birshatari interest came too late to save the company, and the Birshatari Organisation for Military Industries was thus forced to negotiate directly with the Brazilian government for the rights to license manufacture the vehicle. Description The Ninurta is powered by a M21 D24WA supercharged 4 stroke diesel engine generating 129.2 horsepower. The vehicle has a top speed of 75 km/h and a maximum range of 450 km. The Ninurta can climb steps and slopes of 40 cm and 30% respectively, and can cross trenches 1.5 m wide. It is able to ford water of a depth of 80 cm. The vehicle makes use of a Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen 4 HP 22 automatic gearbox with four forward and one reverse gear ratios, with an automatic gearbox believed to reduce driver fatigue compared with a manual one. It has a crew of two consisting of the driver and a commander. The vehicle uses a torsion bar type suspension with four dual tired road wheels and two track return rollers on each side. The Ninurta can be armed with a variety of different weapons, with the basic armament being a 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun in a cupola mount. Other options include a 20 mm cannon, anti-tank missile systems, or a mortar. Protection comes in the form of dual hardness armour developed by ENGESA which affords protection from small arms fire and ballistic fragments. Service history Operators *'Birshatar' **Birshatari Arab Army - 200 Variants *Anti-tank vehicle - armed with the MSS 1.1 or similar anti-tank missiles *Armoured personnel carrier - Capacity for four men, armed with 7.62 mm machine gun mounted on roof of the vehicle *120 mm mortar carrier *120 mm mortar ammunition resupply vehicle *Ambulance vehicle - Longer hull and equipped with door/ramp at the rear for accommodation of stretcher patients *Fire support vehicle - armed with 20 mm cannon mounted in a turret with 100 rounds at the ready and an additional 200 rounds in reserve, equipped with day/night vision devices **Variant with 12.7 mm machine gun in one man turret; turret fitted with two smoke grenade launchers on each side **Variant with twin 7.62 mm machine guns in one man turret placed to the rear of the vehicle *Command vehicle - longer hull with communications equipment and operator, map table and extendible tent Category:Birshatar Category:Military of Birshatar